Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have a shortage of teachers who work in bi-lingual, dual-language immersion, and English as a second language, and districts may need to train their own educators, says a new report by the Education Policy Program at New America.
The Washington think tank’s report synthesizes findings from schools in Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington state to learn about the design and implementation of successful grow-your-own programs—partnerships that prepare residents to work as teachers in their own communities. It recommends creating data systems to track recruitment, job placement, and retention outcomes and developing teacher-certification and -licensure systems that offer multiple pathways for candidates to earn teaching credentials. The report advises districts to recruit “linguistically and culturally diverse candidates” who reflect the community.
